A typical fixed network meter reading system comprises metering sites, gateways, and a backhaul network. The metering sites include radio frequency transmitters or transceivers located at utility meter sites, which are contemplated as including either a water meter or a gas meter, or both. Typically, these utility meters are not connected to a source of AC power and they are operated on battery power. The metering sites communicate with receivers via a wireless radio frequency communication link. If these receivers communicate with a large number of metering sites either directly or through relay devices known as repeaters, and also interface to a backhaul network, they are known as gateways. Gateways collect the data from a plurality of metering sites and pass the information via a wired or wireless network (local or wide area network), sometimes called a backhaul technology, to a central data collection system, where the data is processed for billing purposes. This backhaul network may include various public or private systems such as the WIFI (a wireless LAN), GPRS (a second generation cellular network), POE (Power over Internet), or CDMA (code division multiple access) or many others known in the art.
Cerny et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,298,894, discloses an early example of a mobile automatic meter reading (AMR) system in which a utility meter transmitter transmits radio frequency (RF) metering data signals to an RF collection unit in a drive-by vehicle.
Gastouniotis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,976, discloses an early example of a fixed network for transmitting data from a plurality of utility meters to a central station through a plurality of fixed receiving stations. In fixed receiver network systems today, the receiver units can be mounted on utility poles, or on water storage tank towers, or inside of electric meters or in utility pedestals. In fixed network systems, it is not necessary to provide people and equipment to travel through the areas where readings are to be collected. Fixed meter reading networks are currently referred to in some literature in the technical field as Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI).
A fixed network system is currently preferred in many situations where a large amount of data from metering sites must be processed. On the other hand, there are sometimes periods when scheduled communications are not successful in such systems for various reasons.
Petite et al., Pat. Pub. No. US2005/0195775 discloses a fixed two-way network. Petite does not describe, however, that a gateway or transceiver is carried by a vehicle for collecting utility metering data along a geographical route. In Petite et al., there are two transmitters at each endpoint and two receivers that are each transmitting exclusively either in narrow band communication or in spread spectrum communication, depending on the detected single mode of communication used by the receivers. When a mode is selected for a transmitter, it is based on programmed sensing of the one mode of communication from the receivers using two-way communication.
Osterloh et al., U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US2005/0237959, FIG. 7, shows a method of switching an endpoint between a mobile network and a fixed network according to commands received by the endpoint from the mobile data collector and the fixed data collector, respectively. This is a receiver-command-driven method for a two-way network. This is an either-or selection of the fixed mode or mobile mode, and not a conditional mode of operation for a fixed network.